Overview:
Community leaders call for action to protect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform for Dreamers and broader immigration relief.
A group of local community leaders gathered at Fresno City Hall on Friday morning to mark the 13th anniversary of DACA — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — by sharing personal stories and reaffirming their commitment to fighting for immigrant rights.
The news conference, organized by Poder Latinx, a nonprofit focused on immigration, economic and environmental justice, called for urgent action to protect Dreamers and immigrant families in the Central Valley and beyond.
Norberto González, California state director for Poder Latinx, emphasized that protecting DACA recipients is not just a national issue, but a state one — especially in California, home to more than 150,000 DACA recipients, the highest number in the country. “Without immigrants,” González said, “California wouldn’t be the fourth-largest economy in the world today.”
“We are here to demand that our legislators find a pathway for citizenship for these 150,000 individuals that are here in California today. DACA was the beginning,” said González. “DACA is not the end. It was never meant to be the end. They deserve true representation.”
DACA is a policy adopted in 2012 that protects undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, while also providing work authorization and social security numbers.
About 4,500 Fresno residents have DACA status, according to a March 2023 report from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Three days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit blocked new DACA applications and allowed only renewals.
In Fresno, many DACA recipients have continued to stay informed amidst the program’s uncertainty and find ways to get work experience.
Itzi Robles, a representative from Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula’s office, highlighted the efforts to expand health care access for all Californians. She also noted his role in securing funding for initiatives like the One California Fund, which supports DACA renewals, citizenship applications, and rapid response services.
“When we embrace each other’s humanity, when we reject fear and choose understanding, our country becomes stronger, more compassionate, but there’s still work to do,” said Robles. “We carry forward the legacy of those who came before us and thanks to them, we now stand in the light, and it is our duty to make that light brighter.”
Mario Gonzalez, executive director for the Education and Leadership Foundation, called for immigration reform by reminding local officials that immigrants are here for a better life and are active contributors to our country.
“You migrated here at one point another, generationally,” said Gonzalez. “We’re all immigrants. We all came here with that intent of making a better future for ourselves. It’s now on us to continue that fight for those who come after us, to ensure that those individuals who don’t have a pathway, that we create a pathway for them.”
Norberto González also recognized elected leaders like Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), who was forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference about ICE raids in California.
“If they’re doing that to him, what are they doing to our people?,” said González. “We’re not here to be quiet. We’re not here to be hostile. We are a peaceful community. We just want our rights. We want to be part of this community that we already are. Our nation is at a moment where democracy could break. We need you with us.”
González closed the news conference with a heartfelt congratulations to the Class of 2025, acknowledging the many undocumented scholars who often go unrecognized. He also honored the moment by saying, “Happy Pride Month — because we must stand in solidarity — and Happy Juneteenth.”
